The headlines of the leading newspapers on 04 May 2026:
NATIONAL:
# Business Day:
Reports the Constitutional Court is hearing two major challenges to the National Health Insurance Act today. The issue that needs to be decided is whether Parliament sufficiently considered the public’s input before passing the law.
# And the Netwerk24 website:
Reports the colonial and apartheid legacy is being driven out of classrooms. The minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, said in Parliament that South Africa’s constitutional principles in the African context must be better reflected.
Then the website writes three people have died and a fourth is being treated in Johannesburg after they are suspected of contracting the hantavirus on board a passenger ship. The ship was en route from Argentina to Cape Verde.
And finally, it is reported the Electoral Commission is meeting with former president Jacob Zuma and the MK Party today about the elections.
GAUTENG:
# The Star:
Writes the South African National Editors Forum’s investigation into the suitability of its chairperson, Makhudu Sefara, has raised numerous media ethics questions. Sefara has been implicated by the Special Investigation Unit in an investigation into lottery money.
And secondly, it is reported Parliament will be briefed on the lottery scandal today.
# Sowetan:
Reports that the residents of Ebony Park Phase 1 in Midrand have been waiting in despair for power supply from Eskom. The community has been spending thousands of rand on wood and gas while they have been waiting since April 2025 for a damaged transformer to be repaired.
# And The Citizen:
Writes although deputy president Paul Mashatile is convinced of the ANC’s success in the elections, analysts say the party’s support is still declining and the formation of coalitions is the only way out.
WESTERN CAPE:
# Die Burger:
Firstly, reports about the alleged crocodile victim in Mpumalanga. The paper writes a Gauteng businessman and guesthouse owner in Komatipoort, Gabriel Batista, was allegedly swept away when he drove over the low-water bridge over the Komati River. A crocodile has been killed, and human remains have been found inside the animal. DNA tests will now be carried out.
And secondly, there is news of the narrow escape of the Villagers Montagu rugby club team when the brakes of the bus they were travelling in failed.
EASTERN CAPE:
# The Herald in Gqeberha:
Reports that various international events hosted in Nelson Mandela Bay provide opportunities for the tourism industry in Gqeberha to grow.
And secondly, the paper writes the status of the Blue Flag beaches in Gqeberha is under pressure.
KWAZULU-NATAL:
# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:
Writes several African countries have reacted to the prevalence of xenophobia in South Africa. The opposition leader in Zimbabwe, Nelson Chamisa, says that it is no longer a domestic problem; regional intervention is needed.
And finally from NAMIBIA:
# Republikein in Windhoek:
Today is Cassinga Day in Namibia, and therefore, there is no edition of the paper.